The Battle for Terabithia
by G-Matt
Summary: After two friends are reunited, they must face their greatest challenge ever. LDD. Jeslie
1. Jesse's Worries

**THE BATTLE FOR TERABITHIA**

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bridge to Terabithia_ or its characters.

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**Chapter 1**

Jesse's Worries

May 11th, 2007

It was a warm, sunny spring day in the small town of Lark Creek, Virginia, USA. Many people were anxiously waiting for the upcoming summer.

The Aarons family was among these people. Jack and Mary, the parents, were feeling pretty happy that they would be able to spend more time with their children, although there was still a lot of work to do in order to fix the family's financial problems.

Brenda and Ellie, the oldest children, were struggling to manage with their latest exams. They had also been actually thinking about something to do on summer vacation with their brother and sisters, Jesse, May Belle and Joyce Ann. Ever since that one tragic incident, which had occurred just a month ago, they had been very caring towards the other family members, especially their only brother. They had been willing to take care of some of the chores Jesse had always had to do, and they weren't so frustrated anymore when they had to take care of Joyce Ann. As for summer vacation, Brenda and Ellie had been discussing it with Jesse and May Belle, and they decided to try visiting Virginia Beach. Both Jesse and May Belle couldn't have been happier to see their big sisters caring so much for them.

Jesse and May Belle had gone to the woods near their home every day ever since he had taken his little sister there for the first time three weeks ago. Every day they walked across the bridge over the creek to the magical kingdom they called "Terabithia".

Once again, they were in their imaginary castle where they ruled their kingdom. The interior of the castle looked like it was from a children's movie like _Sleeping Beauty_, just like outside. The main hall was gorgeous. There was a red carpet coming all the way from the entrance doors to the other end of the hall, where King Jesse and Princess May Belle sat in their fabulous, golden chairs. The hall was decorated with candles and paintings, and huge lamps were hanging from the ceiling, lighting up the entire room. There were many doors leading to other rooms, and staircases leading to the high towers of the castle.

A ceremony was taking place in the main hall. The Terabithians were honoring their rulers by dancing and playing one-of-a-kind drums and other percussion. Jesse and May Belle were enjoying their performance. The party was in full swing.

But then, Jesse started to feel a bit uneasy. He didn't know why, he just felt like he was having a little headache. He got up from his chair and started to walk across the room to the entrance. May Belle got up too, worrying about her brother. The Terabithians stopped dancing and drumming, and bowed. Jesse didn't even bother look at them. He concentrated only on his need to get away. May Belle followed him all the way to the doors.

As soon as they had left Terabithia, Jesse finally answered his sister's questions about his sudden actions. "I don't know, May Belle. I don't know why I left. I just felt like I didn't want to be there now."

"Jess, what's the matter?" she asked. But then, as she looked at her silent big brother, she had an idea about what was bothering him. "Were you thinking about her?"

Jesse quickly turned towards May Belle. He wanted to get away from that situation as quickly as possible. "Her? What are you talking about?"

"I think you know very well what I'm talking about, Jess. It's… it's Leslie, isn't it?"

When she mentioned that name, Jesse's eyes widened, he shuddered and suddenly felt angry. "This has nothing to do with her, OK? Now, I don't wanna talk any more about it!" he said and ran to their house, leaving a surprised May Belle standing on the field.

When Jesse came home, he kicked off his shoes and marched his way upstairs to his and his little sisters' room. He slammed the door shut and sat on his bed, groaning in anger. Then he looked up at his night table and stopped groaning, although he felt uneasier than in Terabithia. He stared at the picture of a blonde girl with a very happy smile that could melt anyone's heart.

"_She brought you something special when she came here, didn't she?" _Jesse remembered his father saying to him._ "That's what you need to hold on to. That's how you'll keep her alive."_

Jesse had tried to do so by crowning May Belle Princess of Terabithia. He had felt happy about that…until now. He tried to fight back the tears in his eyes. "Why did you have to go?" he said, still looking at the picture. "I never got a chance to tell you how much you meant to me."

Jesse went to sleep soon after that. He managed to drift into the dreamworld quickly and peacefully. The dream he had was a completely different thing, though.

He was standing and looking around. He could see nothing but darkness. He felt so vulnerable, so weak, so scared. He heard sounds he didn't recognize immediately, but then he knew what it was. It was the sound of rattling keys… That sound was all too familiar to him.

But then he heard something else. It sounded like somebody crying in pain. Or crying for help. That cry sounded familiar to him too. He wondered where he had heard it before.

He started to see something. It looked like…blonde hair. He realized who was crying. "Leslie!"

There was no answer. He could only watch as dark, evil creatures started to gather around the blonde girl. He saw the fear and anxiety on her face. And then, before he was able to do anything, the creatures jumped viciously at her. The girl's cries alone gave him so much pain.

"Leslie! Leslie!" he yelled, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even move forward to help her. He just stared as the creatures slashed and bit her. And, in the end, he watched in shock as the girl's lifeless arm touched the ground.

"Leslie!" Jesse yelled as he sat up on his bed.

He was breathing very heavily, and he was sweating. He looked around. He learned it was about six o'clock in the morning when he saw the clock on his night table. "It was only a dream…" he said silently.

But he still felt so shocked. As he put his left palm on his forehead, he suddenly remembered something. He hadn't had that kind of dream for many days. The last time he had one had been…shortly after the accident.

"It's been a month…" he said. Then he suddenly felt a bit scared. "Could this mean something?"


	2. Attacked

**THE BATTLE FOR TERABITHIA**

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bridge to Terabithia_ or its characters.

--

**Chapter 2**

Attacked

May 12th, 2007

Jesse went downstairs to get breakfast. He was so glad it was Saturday, so he didn't have to be in a hurry like he was on school days. As he came downstairs, he wasn't surprised to find out that there weren't any others besides him. Nobody in the Aarons house usually woke up at six o'clock on a Saturday. He took orange juice from the refrigerator and some bread from the counter next to the refrigerator. He sat down at the dining table and started to eat.

The silence felt so creepy to him. Had his parents and sisters been there too, it would've been quite like the day when Jesse went with his parents to the Burkes' house to pay their respects. "Paying what?" he blurted out silently.

When he realized what he said, he shuddered. He looked around. He was still alone. He rested his head on his arms and ran his fingers through his hair. "All right. I'm becoming crazy", he said to himself.

"You're what?"

Jesse jumped from his chair and looked behind him. May Belle was standing by the stairs, looking worried. "What did you just say, Jess?"

Jesse was still breathing heavily from the surprise. When he calmed down, he said: "None of your business, May Belle. Go back to sleep." He sat down again.

"No. I wanna know what's going on", she said and walked to her brother. She put her left arm on his shoulder.

"May Belle, I'm fine. Just go."

"Jess, you're so not a very good liar. Now you're gonna tell me what's going on", she said and sat down at the other side of the table, facing him. Jesse just glared at her. "I'm the Princess. I have a right to know what's bothering you, King."

Jesse's look suddenly changed from angry to uneasy again. He looked away from his sister and thought for a while. He knew he couldn't be so angry to his little sister. He looked at her again. "All right, May Belle, look. As soon as everybody's awake, you and me will go to Terabithia. I'll explain then, OK?" he said. May Belle nodded in agreement.

Jesse and May Belle took their time and waited for another hour until everybody in the house was awake. After dressing up and brushing their teeth, they asked their parents if they could go to the forest. Jack and Mary said it was all right as long as Jesse did his morning chores. As frustrating as it was, Jesse agreed and did his chores in the greenhouse as quickly as he could. After he finished, he went to get May Belle from the porch, and they started to walk to the forest.

As they reached the creek, they stopped in front of the bridge, like they always did. They expected to see the bridge transform from brown and wooden into a more beautiful golden one. But, strangely, it didn't. Jesse and May Belle still stood in front of it, gasping in amazement.

"What's happened?" May Belle asked in a worried tone.

"I don't know. I guess the magic isn't so alive at the moment…" Jesse muttered, sounding like he had guessed that this kind of thing would happen.

"Well, shouldn't we go and find out what's going on?"

"I guess so. Let's go", Jesse said and took May Belle's hand.

When they got to the other side of the creek, they both suddenly felt chilly. Or at least that's what they thought, since they felt chills running down their spines. They didn't know if it was the cold air, or something totally different…

Jesse finally found the courage to move on. He started to walk deeper into the woods, May Belle following him on his side. Jesse looked around. The whole forest seemed so spooky and dangerous. In fact, he felt the same way he did when he went to the forest for the first time with Leslie. He felt so unfamiliar with the place again. Every time he heard something, like a flock of birds flying from a tree, he jumped around to take a quick look in every direction, but of course he saw nothing.

May Belle noticed her brother's actions and looked at him weirdly. "Are you OK, Jess? Now may be a good time for you to tell me what's the matter with you."

Jesse turned at his sister. "All right, May Belle, all right", he said and stopped. "Okay, here's the deal. Yesterday, at that ceremony, I started to feel…well, dizzy and kinda…horrified. I felt like I wasn't supposed to be in Terabithia. Like, I can't do this anymore. Somehow, all the memories of…" he started to sob, "…Leslie came flowing back to my mind. That was too much for me. I couldn't take it anymore." He had to stop. He was sobbing so much that he couldn't say anything anymore.

"Jess, I thought you had got over it all those weeks ago."

"Well, maybe I still haven't, all right?" he yelled. "Anyway, there you have it. I explained everything. You happy now?!"

May Belle was surprised at her brother's sudden change of behavior. She was starting to weep. "Jess… You need to get over it."

"Don't tell me what to do! I can handle this! Now let's go back."

He turned and started to walk back, but then he stopped. He heard something. It was some kind of…beeping.

And before either of them could move again, black, hairy creatures appeared in front of them. "Squogres", Jesse said.

The beasts snarled at their enemies. There were five of them, and they quickly surrounded Jesse and May Belle. Then the kids heard something else. It sounded like someone was screeching: "Dead meat! Dead meat!" They looked up and saw a few orange Hairy Vultures flying in circles above them. They were trapped.

Jesse was trying to come up with a way to escape from the creatures. He looked around, and then he thought he saw something moving deeper in the woods. He wasn't sure what it was. He only saw it for a second. Then he came up with an idea. He knew it was hard to accomplish, but he had no other choice. He slowly leaned towards his little sister and whispered loud enough so she could hear: "May Belle, on the count of three, run back home. Tell Mom and Dad that I'll be back later."

"Jess… Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I promise, sis."

The Squogres were moving backwards. They were getting ready to strike. Jesse noticed this, and put his plan into action. "Ready? One…two…three!"

As soon as he yelled "three", the black beasts jumped right at Jesse, while May Belle quickly ducked, evading the attack, and ran towards the bridge. Jesse spun his fist around, knocking three Squogres down. However, the remaining two managed to hit him, and he fell on the ground. The beasts jumped on him, and lifted their forelegs in the air, their razor-sharp claws shining in the sun. Jesse lifted his legs and kicked the creatures far enough for him to get up safely. However he wasn't quite safe yet. He looked up to the sky.

"Dead meat!" screeched the Vultures and dove at the 11-year-old boy.

May Belle felt lucky. She crossed the bridge without any of the creatures following her. She kept on running fast until she was back home. Jack and Mary were outside when they saw her arrive. When she reached them, she fell on her knees and panted heavily. "Jess is still in the forest. He'll be back later", she said in between deep breaths.

"How much later?" Jack asked in a demanding yet worried tone.

"I don't know. But he promised he'll be back soon."

Jack and Mary looked at each other. Jack was worried that his son would go crazy. He said: "I just hope he doesn't lose it again in there."

Meanwhile in the forest, Jesse narrowly avoided the Hairy Vultures' diving attack. He started to run towards the direction where he thought he had seen something moving. He tried to run as fast as he could. He was well aware that he was still in danger as he could hear the Hairy Vultures screeching and the Squogres beeping behind him. They would chase him until he gave up running.

The creatures were gaining on him. That amazed him. "But I'm in Terabithia. Why can't I run faster?!" he shouted desperately.

He kept on running. Then, as he looked at the ground, he remembered something. "The grenades!" He picked up a couple of pinecones, bit the top part off of them, and threw them behind him at the unsuspecting animals. The grenades blew up, incinerating many of the vicious creatures. Jesse was given a few more seconds to escape from them.

He looked behind him. The remaining beasts suddenly stopped. He wondered why, but when he turned back, he got his answer. He fell on his knees, panting and coughing so heavily he almost threw up. He couldn't believe what he saw.

In front of him stood a tall monument made out of some kind of black basalt stone. It looked like a gate. Surprisingly, it resembled the entrance at the bridge quite a lot. Two tower-like constructions rose from the ground high into the air. They were at least 50 meters high. At that height, they were twisted horizontally at each other, and in the middle of their distance they were combined together.

Jesse stood up and looked around. He felt even more unfamiliar with this part of the forest than right after the creek. The atmosphere seemed so different. The sun wasn't shining anymore. Dark clouds covered the whole place in darkness. The wind had become noticeably stronger. Jesse felt scared, more scared than ever before. He heard the thunder up in the sky, which raised his fear even more.

Then he started to hear a voice. It sounded like laughter. Very evil laughter. It seemed to be coming from every direction.

"We meet again, King."

Jesse turned around quickly. Something started to form in front of him. After a few seconds, a dark, menacing creature about the same height as Jesse was standing between the boy and the monument. The creature was covered in ripped black clothing –if you could call it that– and it had long, sharp claws in its hands, and long, dark hair covered its face.

Jesse looked at the creature in complete fear, his mouth agape. He felt like his heart would jump out of his chest.

"Why so surprised, boy? I thought you expected this", said the creature in a cold, threatening tone.

Jesse managed to say only three words: "The Dark Master...?"

The creature let out its evil laughter again, filling Jesse with more and more fear. "Correct, dear King." The creature started to walk circles around Jesse. "Good old Jesse Aarons. Always so foolish!" he shouted, causing the boy to jump. "Congratulate yourself for falling into my trap. I knew you would act once you had those visions."

Jesse gasped. "Visions? You mean the ones about…?"

"Your beloved Leslie?" The boy gasped again. "Of course, silly boy, what else?" the Dark Master chuckled. Jesse's face changed from scared to angry. "Oh, I know. You want the truth. Well, your beloved Queen is dead, and now…it is your turn", said the creature with an evil smile that could be seen from under his dark hair.

"Jesse", said the demonic creature while raising his right hand near his left shoulder, "it has been nice knowing you. Now, King Jesse Aarons…DIE!"

The Dark Master waved his right hand forward, right at Jesse. Before he could react, a blast of pure dark energy was fired from his enemy's hand directly at him. The blast struck Jesse right on his stomach, sending him flying backwards. Jesse hit the ground, groaning in pain. The Dark Master laughed, and raised his right hand again, preparing for a second strike. Jesse looked up at his adversary, feeling totally lost. He was praying for help.

And then, just as the Dark Master was about to fire the next shot, something hit him on the chest. The shot was small, but somehow it still caused the dark creature to cry in pain and stumble a bit backwards. Both the Dark Master and Jesse looked up and they saw a Terabithian warrior hovering above them, equipped with a bow and arrow. Soon there was a whole swarm of dozens of the dragonfly-like beings, all of them ready to defend their King.

The Dark Master did nothing but laugh. "Do you think you can defeat me? You insignificant little creatures really think so? Hah! Nobody can defeat me!"

The warriors took out their bows and arrows and fired simultaneously at their foe. This time, since the number of attacks was raised, the damage was greater. The arrows had enough power to put the Dark Master on one knee. The Dark Master panted slightly and looked up at Jesse, who had now stood up. The Terabithian warriors were hovering next to him, ready to fire again.

"I guess you have still got friends, boy", said the Dark Master with a sly grin on his face and stood up. "Well, King Jesse, you may have won this battle, but I can assure you, the war has only just begun." The Dark Master waved his hand and suddenly he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Jesse and the warriors waited quietly for a few more seconds. They noticed the wind started to calm down. They looked up. The dark clouds were fading away, revealing the sun.

"The battle is over", announced the leader of the Terabithian warriors who flew in front of Jesse. "Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Yes, I am", answered Jesse. He then thanked all the warriors before they flew back to the treetops, except for the leader, who still had something important to say to the King.


	3. Reunion

**THE BATTLE FOR TERABITHIA**

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bridge to Terabithia_ or its characters.

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**Chapter 3**

Reunion

May 12th, 2007

"Your Highness, I am Gregorius, the leader of the Terabithian warriors. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what brings you here?" asked the insect-like being.

Jesse looked at him with amazed eyes. He had never met a Terabithian creature with an actual name. "Well, uh…Gregorius, I just happened to come here with my sis… I mean Princess May Belle, and I thought I saw something moving deeper in the forest, so I ran after it and here I am."

Gregorius nodded his tiny golden head. "I see. To be honest, my King, we hoped you would never find this part of Terabithia."

"Why would that be?" Jesse asked. He was surprised by what he heard. Somehow he found his ability to speak as a King again. "Don't I have the right to go anywhere in my kingdom I want? Isn't that my right as a King?" he pronounced royally.

Gregorius looked at his ruler. His sad face was completely hidden by the helmet he had on. "But this is a place you shouldn't visit. It is a graveyard."

Jesse moved his eyebrows together. "A graveyard? What's so special about that?"

"It is a dark and mysterious place that needs to be honored and not treated without respect. Very few would want to visit this unusual place."

"Why, Gregorius?"

"My King, there are two different graveyards in Terabithia. One of them is in a much more peaceful place, and that's where most of us Terabithians go. The other one is situated here, and even though the sun shines here too, the whole place is just darker. That's because here are the graves of all the evil creatures that have died in battles et cetera."

"Oh, all right, I understand," Jesse nodded slightly.

"But, unfortunately, that's not all, dear King", Gregorius said, turned away from Jesse and looked at the high, spooky gate. "This is also the place where the evil beings bury everyone they've killed themselves."

Jesse continued to stare at the warrior. He was beginning to understand what the situation was. He gasped. Gregorius noticed this and knew he had to confess to his King, no matter what. But still it was difficult for him to tell Jesse the truth. "We fear that…this is the place where they've buried…"

Gregorius turned around, only to find out that Jesse was gone. He then looked at the gate again, and saw Jesse in front of the gate. He was about to enter the graveyard. "Your Highness, stop! You mustn't go there!" he yelled and flew after Jesse.

"Don't worry about me! I know what I'm doing!" Jesse yelled back over his shoulder. He stopped and turned around. Gregorius stopped too. "Gregorius, wait for me here. If I don't come back in fifteen minutes, send your troops to look for me."

"Understood, Your Highness", said the warrior and bowed. Jesse turned, and entered the graveyard. Gregorius continued to stare at him until he was out of sight. That happened pretty quickly too, as there was a thick layer of fog in the graveyard. The leader warrior took his position as a guard next to the gate, hoping that his King would return safe and sound.

When Jesse entered the mysterious place, he couldn't see a thing due to the thick fog. After walking a few meters, the fog started to disappear. When he finally got a chance to take a look around, he was totally stunned by the sight. Now he knew what Gregorius had meant by calling this graveyard an unusual place. It almost didn't even look like a graveyard. He could only see the countless five-meter-high leafless trees that seemed to dominate the place. There were no tombstones poking out of the ground. Jesse noticed that the only way you could actually find a grave was by looking for a spot on the ground with no grass or any other vegetation. He also noticed that in almost every one of those spots, there was a symbol resembling a spiraling lightning bolt carved on the ground.

Jesse wandered around the graveyard for five minutes and he didn't find anything of special interest. He started to think that it was a mistake to go there. Feeling angry and furious with himself, he kicked a nearby stone, sending it flying a few yards away. Then, he remembered what Gregorius had told him about respecting the place, and immediately he regretted what he had done. The wind started to blow harder and harder every passing second until it was hard for Jesse even to stand on his feet. Eventually he had to give up and suffer the punishment. He fell on his knees, trying to cover his eyes from the wind. Just as he was about to scream for help, the wind began to calm down. To Jesse it seemed like the wind ended just as suddenly as it had started.

Jesse stood up and continued to walk around the graveyard. As he passed by every dark, dead tree, the threatened feeling inside him grew more and more. The trees alone made the graveyard look such a spooky and haunting place. "Gregorius _was_ right", he thought to himself. "Indeed, very few would want to come here."

Then he stepped on something. He knew it wasn't a tree branch or a rock. He lifted his leg and looked down. He saw something colorful on the otherwise colorless ground. He bent down to take a closer look. He realized it was a tiny piece of some sort of a cloth. It seemed to have been ripped from the cloth. How he had been able to feel it under his weight he had no clue. He grabbed it with his right hand. It felt so soft…almost familiarly soft. He held it on his palm and continued to stare at it. Suddenly, he realized something else. He gasped in shock. "This can't be…from a sock?"

He looked up from his hand at the ground. He focused his eyes. There were dozens of similar little cloth pieces right before him. And they seemed to form a line, probably leading somewhere. Jesse closed his right palm, still holding the soft, colorful piece of sock, and determinedly started to follow the path formed up by the other pieces.

After a few yards the pieces' path turned slightly to the right. Jesse looked up from the ground, and his eyes widened. Before him stood a monument, pretty similar to the one at the graveyard's entrance, but not as high. Jesse thought it resembled a gate leading to a Japanese shrine or temple. There was something written on the top of it with quite stylish lettering. Jesse looked closely and read aloud: "Queen."

He gasped: "Oh, my God! It can't be!" He took a deep breath and went on walking. After passing the "gate", he noticed that the atmosphere was changing. Dark clouds covered the sun, and the thick fog appeared again. Even though the fog made it almost impossible for him to see anything, even the pieces of clothing on the ground, Jesse felt courage and determination rising inside him, and continued to walk forward. Weirdly enough, the fog didn't last for but thirty seconds of walking. But, as the fog cleared, Jesse swore he heard a ghost-like voice of some kind.

After looking around and not finding the source of the voice, he fixed his eyes straightforward again. He saw something truly shocking. It was the most shocking thing he had ever seen.

In front of the 11-year-old boy stood four pillars, each one about three meters high. The pillars formed a circle, like Stonehenge. Inside the circle, on the ground, was a symbol that had the shape of a star. But the most shocking thing of all was lying on the ground, covering the star-shaped symbol.

Tears were coming out of Jesse's eyes. He saw a beautiful, blonde-haired, thin, young girl lying on the ground, completely motionless. She had colorful, but heavily torn, clothes, including a blue shirt with a Pegasus on the front, light brown pants, almost sneaker-like boots, and…long socks with stripes of different colors covered her elbows. This girl was the best and only friend Jesse Aarons had ever had. Her name was Leslie Burke.

Jesse felt like his heart was coming up his throat when he yelled with every bit of emotion he had: "LESLIE!" He ran to the circle and fell on his knees next to his friend. "Leslie! Leslie, can you hear me? Leslie!" he cried while shaking the girl, trying to get her awake, but to no avail. Jesse cried even more. "Leslie, please! Leslie, please wake up! I'm begging you!" Again, there was no response.

"Leslie…" Jesse's voice was shattered as he took Leslie's right hand into his own hands, stroked it and rested his head on it. "Please. Please come back. I need you." He looked at her face. He knew she was unconscious, but still she looked so unbelievably calm. The memories of that fatal day came flowing back to his mind. "I'm sorry I didn't think of you back then. I'm sorry I didn't invite you to come with me. I promise I'll never do that again. Please, Leslie. I'll do anything. Just…please wake up!"

Then he felt something. He hoped it was Leslie's hand moving, but it was not. But he did feel something. He concentrated on her hand. "A pulse?" he said in amazement. Quickly he put his right hand on her chest while still holding her hand with his left. On her chest, he felt a pulse too.

His eyes watered again as he said: "You're alive!"

As soon as he said that, he heard the ghost-like voice again. He stood up, trying to find the source again. He knew it was pointless to look for it because the voice seemed to be coming from every direction. Since he didn't want anything to happen to him or Leslie, he knew what he had to do.

He placed his right arm under Leslie's knees and his left arm under her back. Carefully and gently he lifted her up. He was actually surprised that he was strong enough to carry her. As he remembered that voice again, he started to walk back, holding Leslie tightly in his arms.

As they exited the spooky place through the "gate", he saw the pieces of sock on the ground. He thought for a minute. "Should I pick them up for her? It wouldn't do much good for Leslie, but she could like to have a souvenir of some kind." In the end, he decided against it. He already had enough to carry anyway. And so he continued to walk, holding Leslie and following the trail of sock pieces.

Gregorius was still standing guard at the graveyard's entrance gate. Since the Terabithian creatures had an "inside clock", he knew fifteen minutes had almost passed. He was preparing to call the other warriors until he heard something from the other side of the gate. He turned around and when he saw Jesse's head coming out of the fog he sighed in relief. But when he saw whom his King was carrying, he was shocked.

"You were right, Gregorius", Jesse said.

The leader warrior stuttered: "I-I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Gregorius. But I need you to do something. If there is a medic Terabithian, tell them to meet me at the castle. Our Queen needs to be revived."

"Is the Queen still alive?!" Jesse nodded. "All right. Your wish is my command, Your Highness", said Gregorius, bowed and flew to the treetops.

After three minutes, Jesse had reached the old tree house that was the "castle" he had created with Leslie. It felt good for him to see the tree house again after all the time spent in the new castle he created with May Belle. The Terabithian warriors soon arrived and offered to lift their Queen up to the castle, to which Jesse agreed. When the warriors grabbed hold of her, he let go off Leslie and watched for a moment as the surprisingly strong insects carried their precious Queen inside the tree house. Then he climbed up to the castle himself.

The warriors set Leslie down on the floor while Jesse told them to be careful. As Leslie touched the wooden floor, Jesse crouched down beside her and let a tear run down his left cheek. The warriors moved back a little. Next, there was a bright flash of light and then a different kind of Terabithian was standing between Leslie and Jesse. Jesse was stunned. This Terabithian was obviously female. Jesse saw that from the clean woman-like face and very long hair. She was golden in color, like the warriors. But the difference between her and them was the size. She was at least two meters tall and she only just fit inside the tree house. She was wearing a full-body dress, and she also had a long staff in her left hand.

She turned to Jesse and bowed. "Greetings, my King. I am Dora", she said in a very soft, calm tone.

Jesse answered: "Greetings, Dora. I assume you are the medic?"

"In a way, yes. Once I heard that you found Queen Leslie alive, I wasted no time in coming here." She turned at the unconscious girl. "Although, the revival won't be easy. It will require a lot of energy and skill. And I'm going to need your help to accomplish that, King Jesse."

"I understand", Jesse nodded. "What do I need to do?"

Dora continued to explain calmly: "I need you to place your left hand on her forehead, and your right hand on her chest."

Jesse did as he was told. Once his hands were in place, Dora touched both of them with the tip of her staff. His hands started to glow. Jesse was amazed but he knew he couldn't move them away. He watched as Dora lifted her staff in the air. She concentrated as she began to mumble a spell while spinning the staff in her hands. The dragonfly warriors were watching in awe. After about twenty seconds she stopped mumbling and pointed her staff at Leslie.

Dora made eye contact with Jesse and said: "King Jesse, I still need you to do something." Jesse nodded. "You need to fulfill your loyalty as a true King. If you wish to have Leslie, the one you love, back, I want you to promise something. Do you promise to protect and love Queen Leslie, no matter what? Do you promise to be there for her and be by her side by all means necessary? Are you ready to fulfill your task as a loving, caring, true King of Terabithia?"

"Yes, I promise. I am ready" Jesse answered with a voice full of determination.

With no further questions, Dora turned towards Leslie again. She concentrated and a bright, golden ray of light was shot from her staff. The ray split in half and hit both of Jesse's hands. At the same time, a tear from his right eye fell down and hit his right hand. Then, as if that one single tear was the last thing needed, Leslie's whole body started to glow. The light quickly filled the entire tree house, making it shine in the middle of the dark forest. After another ten seconds, the glow faded.

Everybody stayed still in the tree house. After casting the spell, Dora moved her staff away from Leslie. Jesse was still holding his hands on Leslie's forehead and chest, desperately waiting for any sign of life, as did Dora and the warriors. They hoped that their waiting and patience would be repaid.

And then, it happened. Jesse saw Leslie's left hand move towards his right. As soon as she touched it, she slowly began to open her eyes. Jesse felt the tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat. He couldn't say anything. He could only watch as a miracle was taking place right before his eyes. Leslie turned slightly to the right, and her fully opened eyes met his. Jesse sobbed when he saw that beautiful smile on Leslie's face, something he had thought he'd never see again.

"Jesse…" Leslie whispered.

Jesse shook his head in happiness and answered: "Leslie…"

Leslie slowly sat up. The two best friends looked at each other's eyes and then put their arms around each other in a hug like no other. They held on to each other tightly, especially Jesse. He was making sure to keep the promise he had just made. He wouldn't let her go, no matter what. The friends patted each other's backs and cried, letting their happy tears run down freely.

The Terabithian warriors started to clap and shout with joy. Dora joined in as well. Jesse and Leslie reluctantly separated from each other and watched as the Terabithians honored them as their rulers once again. They were happier than ever before, and for a good reason.

The Queen had returned.

------------------------------------------

**Author's notes**

Don't worry, this is not the end yet. There will be lots of more stuff coming. ;)


	4. The Truth

**THE BATTLE FOR TERABITHIA**

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bridge to Terabithia_ or its characters.

--

**Chapter 4**  
The Truth

May 12th, 2007

After another minute, the Terabithians stopped cheering. They bowed and worshipped their revived, beloved Queen. Jesse and Leslie smiled at the sight, especially Leslie. She felt so happy to see all the Terabithians again. She gratefully thanked them, and asked them if she could be alone with her King. The Terabithians accepted her wish and left the tree house, leaving their rulers.

Once Jesse and Leslie were finally alone, she said smilingly: "My, Jess… It feels so great to be back."

He smiled back at her: "Yes, I know."

His mind was filled with a lot of thoughts. He had so many questions to ask from his best friend. How could she still be here? Didn't she die at all? What really happened to her?

He managed to collect himself and changed his position so that he was sitting right in front of her, face to face. "Leslie…" She fixed her eyes on him. "You're probably aware that…that I have so many questions."

Leslie sighed: "Yeah, I would've guessed that."

"So, uh…" Jesse looked down, trying to find the right words. "I think you may have a pretty good idea about what I want to ask", he said and glanced up at her.

She just smiled, thinking that Jesse was about to say something…meaningful. "Well? What is it?"

"How can you still be alive? For a month I've thought you're dead!"

Leslie's smile vanished. "A month?"

"Yes! And not just me. Your parents, my parents and sisters, everyone has thought you're gone!"

Leslie looked away to the forest. "Wow. It must've been true after all."

Jesse's look got even more confused. "If you mean that you've been practically 'dead', then yes!"

"No, I didn't mean that", she said while turning at him again.

"Huh?"

"I meant that…" She fell quiet for a while. Then she looked at him straight in the eyes and said: "Okay, Jess. I guess I should tell you what really happened. But still, are you sure you're ready to hear this?"

He nodded. "Of course I am."

"All right. Here goes." She took a deep breath.

"One month ago, on the 14th of April, I went to your house to ask you if you wanted to go to Terabithia. But you weren't there. I just thought you were doing your chores, but then May Belle came up to me and told me that you had went to a museum or something with Ms. Edmunds."

Jesse looked down at the floor of the tree house, feeling guilty. "Jess, is everything all right?" Leslie asked and put her left hand on his right shoulder.

Jesse jumped a bit from Leslie's touch, and looked at her. Seeing her concerned face, he quickly said: "Yeah, yeah. Go on."

She removed her hand and continued: "Well, when I heard May Belle's words, I was quite puzzled. I wondered why you didn't invite me to come with you. But, then again I remembered that you had a crush on her. I knew that because I had seen the way you always looked at her."

"Yeah, that's true", Jesse admitted.

"Anyway, I decided not to let that bother me and quickly went back to my house to get Prince Terrien. We ran across the fields and reached the rope. I lifted P.T. and held on to him tightly while I reached for the rope with the help of a branch. I got the rope and swung over the creek. But then, just as I stepped on the other side, a Hairy Vulture suddenly appeared out of nowhere and flew towards the rope. And then it cut it in half with its claws. I was going to turn around and run away, but a flock of Squogres appeared right in front of me and soon they surrounded me. I started to panic, more than ever before in my life."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, the Hairy Vulture grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me up. I started to scream. Even though I knew it was worthless, I kept yelling your name."

Jesse stared at his best friend sympathetically. Leslie, now on the brink of tears, continued: "And the worst thing was that I still had P.T. in my arms. I didn't want anything bad to happen to him, but I couldn't just drop him. What if he got injured or worse? So, I held on to him for the whole time while the Vulture carried us to…to the…"

"Where, Leslie?"

Leslie looked at him with fear in her eyes. "To the Dark Master's lair."

Jesse gasped. Leslie slowly nodded in response and went on: "The Vulture carried us through this high gate and then after a few more minutes it dropped us slowly to the ground. I released P.T. but still made sure he stayed near me. I looked around and saw that we were in some kind of a pit. I couldn't see anything; it was so pitch-dark in there. The only light came from above, outside the pit. The next thing I knew, the Dark Master appeared at the edge of the pit. He said: 'Dear Queen Leslie Burke, it is time. Prepare to meet your doom.' Then he raised his arms high into the air, and started to mumble something, like a spell. Two dark beams came from his hands, and they hit me. I started to feel very dizzy and couldn't move. I did manage to see P.T. being carried away by the Vulture and the Dark Master saying: 'This dog is no use for me', or something like that. And then, before I knew it, I lost consciousness."

Jesse had been listening to the whole story with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "That's how P.T. must've managed to survive", he thought. He was also now fully aware of the Dark Master's true strength.

Leslie looked up at him again. "The next thing I remember after that is…waking up here, and seeing your face again", she said, and gave a little smile.

"You sure have been through a lot. But that's all over now. I'm so glad to have you back, Leslie", he said and pulled her to a gentle hug, which she firmly accepted.

After a moment Jesse let go of her and asked: "There's still something I don't understand. If you have been here all this time, how can everything else be explained? I mean, my Dad told me the police found you in the creek, thinking you had drowned, and then we went to your house to 'pay our respects', and…" Jesse lost his voice and buried his head in his hands.

"I know what you mean, Jess, I really do. Look, we can't do anything about that now. I guess we'll have to figure everything out later."

Jesse chuckled. "Are you crazy? How on earth are we gonna do that? Besides, how are we going to explain this to my parents? Not to mention yours."

Leslie thought for a moment. "Jess, we can visit Terabithia later and…well, search for the answer to this mystery. As for your parents… I don't know, I guess the only thing we can do is lie to them. I know you know that I'm an honest person, and that I wouldn't lie about anything. But this is a situation where we have no other choice."

"And how exactly are we going to tell them that you are not dead after all?" Jesse said a little jokingly.

"Jess, that's not funny. I guess we're just gonna have to rely on something like… Well, you could just tell them that all of a sudden you found me here, in the woods."

"And you think they'll buy that?"

Leslie sighed: "Look, I know there's a high chance that they won't, but we don't have any other choice. We will have to try this, Jess."

Jesse thought about Leslie's suggestion seriously for a few minutes until he said, sighing: "Well, I guess you're right. There is no other choice."

"That's right, Jess. But don't worry. Everything will be figured out later. Trust me", Leslie said and gave a slight yawn. "I feel a bit tired. Tell you what. What if we go now, and then come back first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds fine to me."

"Good. Let's go, okay?"

"Okay."

Jesse and Leslie climbed down from the tree house and walked to the bridge. When it came to full view, Leslie gasped in amazement.

Jesse noticed this. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Obviously I don't need to tell you that a lot of things have been happening since you were gone. I, um…built this bridge. Then I introduced Terabithia to May Belle. She's been the Princess of Terabithia ever since." Leslie turned to look at him, still with the same look of surprise. "I hope that's OK with you", Jesse quickly added.

Leslie smiled. "Of course it's OK, Jess. I understand why you must've done that. After all, May Belle is your favorite sister, right?"

"Yeah. But you're still the Queen."

Leslie's smile grew wider and she and Jesse turned to look at the bridge. Within seconds it started to glow. The bridge transformed. It was no longer brown and wooden, but beautiful, elegant, and golden. Both Jesse and Leslie couldn't help but stare at the wonderful miracle that had just happened in front of them.

"The magic is back", Jesse said.

"Yes, it is."

Leslie stepped on the bridge, and suddenly felt a vibration of some sort go through her body. Even stepping on the bridge seemed magical. Leslie walked slowly to the other side of the creek, Jesse following close behind her. When they reached the other side, Leslie turned around to look at the bridge again. She looked up and gasped again. She saw the sign that Jesse had made.

"Nothing Crushes Us", she read aloud. She turned to look at Jesse. "This is truly wonderful, Jesse."

Jesse noticed she was on the verge of crying. He smiled gently and opened his arms, allowing her to wrap her arms around him in a warm hug. He put his arms around her too. As the two best friends stood in front of the bridge for a couple minutes in each other's arms, Jesse also felt a tear going down his cheek. Both of them were happy that they were together again. Then the hug ended and they started to walk towards Jesse's house.

On the way through the fields, Leslie felt something touch her leg. It was something moving. She slowly looked down. Suddenly she screamed, making Jesse jump too. Leslie quickly shook her leg to get rid of the "thing". Jesse looked where it flew. Then he saw something moving away from them.

"A lizard?" he asked. "Was that the thing that touched you?"

Leslie nodded, still shaking a bit from the shock.

"Are you okay, Les?" She didn't respond. Jesse figured out why. "Are you afraid of lizards?"

Leslie slowly turned her head at him. "I'm sorry, Jess. It's just that…" She became nervous and ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

Jesse put his arm around her shoulders and said: "Hey, calm down. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I bet everybody's afraid of something. You know, there are stuff like arachnophobia and lots of other phobias."

Leslie seemed to calm down. "Yes, Jess, I admit, I am a bit herpetophobic."

"Herpetophobia? Fear of reptiles, right?"

"Yes. I've had it for my whole life." She chuckled. "I guess you're disappointed that I'm not quite so flawless."

"That's not true. Think about it. _I_ have some flaws, and still you like me. Right?"

Leslie gave him a smile. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry if I overreacted."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Come on, let's go."

A few minutes later Jesse and Leslie arrived at the Aarons house. Leslie started to feel nervous again and was unsure about stepping inside. "Jess, I'm not sure if I can do this. What will your parents say?"

"Look, I know this may be a shock to them, but I think they'll be able to handle it."

She smiled faintly. "Okay."

Jesse opened the front door and carefully stepped inside. "Mom? Dad? Where are you?"

"It was about time you came back", Jack yelled. "We're in the living room."

Jesse gestured Leslie to wait for a second. "I have a little surprise for you", he said to his parents, who were sitting on the living room couch. As Jack and Mary turned to look at Jesse, Leslie slowly stepped inside and walked beside him.

Jack and Mary's faces were filled with shock and they both stood up. "Jesse Oliver Aarons, explain", Mary ordered.

Jesse looked at Leslie and his parents a bit nervously and said: "Well, what can I say? She's alive."

Mary looked tensely at Leslie. "Leslie? Leslie Burke, is that really you?"

Leslie smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I am."

Mary grabbed her husband's arm. "Jack, please tell me this isn't happening."

Jack shook his head. "Stop it, Mary. It is real. She's really there." He walked to his son and kneeled down. "How can this be possible, Jess?"

Jesse sighed: "I don't know. I was just…" he stole a brief glance from Leslie, "…walking in the woods until I heard something. Then, the next thing I knew, I saw Leslie lying on the ground under a tree."

"Yes, that's true, Mr. Aarons, he found me", Leslie cut in. Jack looked at her. "I just got lost in the woods a month ago. But now, I'm back, thanks to Jess", she said and rubbed Jesse's left arm a little, making him flush.

Jack stood up and walked past Jesse and Leslie to the kitchen. "Oh, my God. This is just unbelievable."

"It's true, Dad", Jesse said and turned around. "I know you're probably wondering how this situation is going to explain all the things that happened before and…"

"Oh, you sure are right, son", Jack chuckled seriously and met his son's eyes. "How do you think we'll find out everything? How are you going to explain that corpse in the creek? And the wake, how about that, huh?"

"Dad, honestly, I don't know. But I promise, we will find out later."

Jack looked at his son and Leslie for a moment. Never before had he seen so much determination in a child's eyes as he saw now in Jesse and Leslie's. "All right, if you say so, son." Jesse and Leslie shared relieved smiles.

"But, Leslie, I think we should call your parents. Don't you think so?"

"I guess you're right, Mr. Aarons."

"Do you want to call them or shall I?"

"No, no, go ahead. I don't feel like I'm quite ready to speak with them yet. And if I called anyway, they would probably get a heart attack or something from hearing my voice."

Everyone in the room shared a laugh. Then, just at that moment, Jesse's sisters walked down the stairs.

Brenda asked: "What's going on in…" she stopped and her face fell when she saw Leslie, "…here?"

Ellie and May Belle were shocked, too. "All right, are we all hallucinating here?" Ellie asked, raising her hands in the air.

Leslie burst into laughter. Jesse looked at her, and smiled. It felt so good for him to hear her beautiful laugh again. He and May Belle soon started laughing too.

"Ellie, I don't think this is a vision of any kind", Brenda muttered to her sister.

May Belle ran up to Leslie and hugged her. "I've missed you, Leslie!"

Leslie sniffed. "I've missed you too, May Belle."

Ellie walked to her brother. "Jess, what's the meaning of this?"

"Ellie, I just found her in the woods. That's all."

"But… But… Wasn't she supposed to be…?"

"Dead?" Brenda completed.

Everyone in the room stood in silence for a few seconds.

"I know we all thought that was true, but it wasn't. Leslie's back", Jesse answered with the happiest smile he had ever had. Brenda and Ellie looked at each other with confused faces.

"Hey, Leslie! Look who's here", Mary said. She was carrying Joyce Ann in her arms.

Leslie gasped. "Oh, Mrs. Aarons, you didn't need to…" Leslie said politely, but was cut off by Mary.

"No trouble for me at all. Leslie, would you like to hold her?"

Leslie smile widened and she glanced at Jesse, who nodded. "Sure!"

She walked up to Mary, and carefully took the baby in her arms. "Well, hello there" she said cutely and tickled Joyce Ann's nose. "I know we've met before, when I went to church with your family, but I don't think you remember me. I'm Leslie Burke. I'm your neighbor, and your brother's best friend."

Jesse, who was standing beside her, looked at his youngest sister. She was smiling. Jesse had never seen her smile before. By then, he had drawn the conclusion that Leslie was truly an angel.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Jack called Leslie's parents, Bill and Judy Burke, and informed about what had happened. Leslie had guessed right. Both of her parents nearly got a heart attack when they heard what Jack said. Once they had calmed down, they told they would be arriving at Lark Creek about two days later, on Monday. Leslie got even more excited and nervous when Jack told her the news.

As the night quickly approached, Jack and Mary discussed about Leslie's sleeping arrangements with her and Jesse. Leslie liked to be modest and suggested she'd sleep on the living room couch, but Jack and Mary wouldn't approve that. Mary took an old sleeping bag from a storeroom and gave it to Leslie. Jesse asked if she could share the room with him and May Belle. Jack and Mary accepted his wish. They also told that Joyce Ann's bed would be removed to their bedroom.

And so, around 9 pm., Leslie crawled inside of the sleeping bag, while Jesse and May Belle were already in their own beds. They wished each other good night, and closed their eyes. Both Jesse and Leslie were smiling as they fell asleep, feeling happy that he had found her, and brought her back.


	5. Facing Fears

**THE BATTLE FOR TERABITHIA**

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bridge to Terabithia_ or its characters.

--

**Chapter 5**  
Facing Fears

May 13th, 2007

Leslie may have fallen asleep smiling, but she had a hard time sleeping, though. She tossed and turned constantly. She kept hearing a voice in her head. Someone or something was telling her to go to Terabithia as quickly as possible. In her subconscious, Leslie was able to tell that the owner of the voice meant business. She decided she would go across the creek first thing in the morning.

When Leslie woke up, she glanced at Jesse's alarm clock. It was only 6 am, but she didn't feel tired at all. She was surprised about that. Quietly she crawled out of the sleeping bag, making sure not to wake Jesse and May Belle. She got dressed, carefully opened the door and went downstairs. She put on her boots and jacket, opened the front door and stepped outside. Slowly but surely she walked toward the woods, almost as if she was in a trance or something.

She stopped when she arrived at the bridge. She looked at it long and closely. The bridge began to change again. Soon it was golden again, glowing as the early morning sun cast its rays upon it. Leslie admired the sight for a few moments, and then started to walk across.

As Leslie entered Terabithia, she felt the familiar feeling of adventure and excitement flow throughout her body. She looked around at the trees. Every time the wind picked up, she breathed in the fresh morning air, and felt herself relax. Soon she made her way to the tree house. As she fixed her eyes on it, memories filled her mind. She recalled how she and Jesse first discovered Terabithia.

"_Prisoners of the Dark Master, hear me! We have come to free you! Do you hear us? Show me that you hear us!"_

Leslie thought about what she had said that day. "I guess I've let you down, huh?" she said sadly to the treetops. "He's still out there. We still have to defeat him."

_Snap!_

She jumped and turned around. "What was that?" she wondered. She looked everywhere, but she saw nothing.

"Who's there?" she said a bit louder.

She heard the sound of a nearby bush waving its leaves. As she looked at the bush, she heard something else. It sounded like something was hissing.

Something appeared from behind the bush. Leslie gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her hands. It was something she had never expected or even wanted to see. It was a big –indeed, really big– incarnation of her greatest fear. Even after it came completely from behind the bush, she felt helpless. She couldn't even move. Her legs weren't taking any orders from her.

Before her stood a giant, grayish-black lizard, which resembled a Komodo dragon. Its length was about three meters, including the tail. As it stood on all four legs, it reached a height of almost one meter. It was truly a giant. The animal had very black eyes, five toes with long claws on each foot and a tongue like a snake would have. A row of sharp spikes covered its back. Its scaly skin looked impenetrable, as if it was armor.

The creature screeched at Leslie who was still in so much panic that she couldn't even think properly. Then the lizard produced a sound, which sounded like a whale wailing. Suddenly three squogres appeared from the bushes too and jumped next to the lizard. Leslie's fear grew even stronger as all the beasts snarled in such a threatening way.

The squogres leaped at Leslie, knocking her down. Quickly they moved from top of her and put their legs on her hands, keeping her from getting up. The lizard also moved forward and when it reached her, it put its front legs on her legs. Leslie had never felt so helpless. Her experience of a month ago was nothing compared to her current situation. She was in panic, four creatures were holding her tightly, her heart was pounding and she was hyperventilating. She tried to get enough air to cry for help, but when she was about to do that, something caught her attention. She looked over the lizard and saw something or someone forming in front of her.

"Oh, no! Please, no!" she cried in horror as she heard an evil laughter.

Meanwhile, in the Aarons house, Jesse and May Belle came downstairs for breakfast. The rest of the family was already at the table eating. Mary placed two bowls of cereal in front of Jesse and May Belle. At that moment something clicked on Jesse's mind.

"Where's Leslie? I haven't seen her at all this morning."

"Probably she realized her mistake and dumped you", Brenda laughed, and Ellie joined in.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. They weren't the same compassionate big sisters they still had been just a few days ago. Now they acted like Leslie had never gone missing.

"What did you say, Brenda?"

"Are you deaf?" Ellie answered for her sister. "That blonde must have realized how boring you really are."

"Ellie, stop it", Mary said from behind the counter.

"Oh, Mom, please! I know what you said when Jess first brought her here, but judging from your tone I can say you weren't particularly pleased either."

Jesse then remembered that time. When he and Leslie exited the house, he had heard his mother telling Brenda and Ellie to be glad that he finally had a friend.

"Shut up!" he yelled and stood up, slamming the table hard with both of his hands. Naturally, everyone in the kitchen was surprised by his actions.

"Watch your language, son!" Jack shouted.

"Didn't you hear what my big sisters just said? I…"

He stopped his speech. The pupils in his eyes grew bigger as he was starting to have a vision. In his head he saw a faint picture of Terabithia, then Leslie lying helplessly on the ground, crying for him. Soon the vision ended.

Jesse was still standing still, breathing quite heavily. As he became aware of his surroundings again, he looked around. Everyone in the room was staring at him, wondering what was going on.

"I know where she is", he suddenly blurted out. "I know where Leslie is!"

"Well, where?" his mother asked.

Jesse didn't answer her question though. He just took May Belle by the hand and said: "We gotta go now. Quickly!"

May Belle had no time to react to his statement as he ran to the front door with her. "Jess, where are you going?" Mary yelled.

"It's Sunday, we need to go to church soon!" Jack continued for her.

Jesse turned his head quickly and yelled back: "We're going into the woods. We'll be right back, I promise!" Then he opened the door and they stepped out. He started to run towards the woods while May Belle tried to keep up with him.

"Are we going to Terabithia?" she yelled.

"Yes! We need to save Leslie! She's in trouble!"

"Did you…see her?" May Belle panted out.

"Yeah!"

Meanwhile in the forest, Leslie stared in fear at the figure that had just appeared in front of her. In the middle of all the sound made by the rattling keys she managed to say: "What do you want?"

"Oh, I thought you knew", the Dark Master answered. "You see, I need you, Queen."

"Oh really? What for?" Leslie spat out.

"You are one of the rulers of this kingdom. You hold some of the precious energy that keeps it going."

"What are you talking about?" Leslie said, even though she had a pretty good idea what the dark creature meant.

The Dark Master let out an evil chuckle. "Dear Queen, you are holding it inside you", he said, pointing at her.

Leslie gasped in horror as the Dark Master walked right next to her and knelt down. "And now, it is time to have that energy."

The Dark Master raised his right arm into the air, and it started to glow. The squogres and the lizard eased their hold, but before Leslie got a chance to get away, several tree roots appeared from the ground as if they had a life of their own and wrapped themselves around her. It was all now clear to Leslie. The Dark Master was going to drain her life energy. She tried to get away, but to no avail. The roots were holding her down. As she saw the evil smile of her worst opponent, she closed her eyes, praying that someone would save her.

Her prayers were answered.

Just when the Dark Master was going to strike Leslie, something hit him on his hand. The Dark Master yelled in slight pain, stood up and inspected the surroundings. Slowly he walked away from his prisoner, looking around before turning to look at the tree house. "Who is there?!" he shouted, but didn't get an answer.

He looked around again. He hissed at the sight of nothing appearing. "If there is someone out there…you had better show yourselves!"

"With pleasure."

Everyone, including the squogres, turned to look at the direction where the sound had come from. Suddenly, all they could see was a bright flash of light. Everyone had to close their eyes in order to not get blind. Soon there was another flash, and another and another…

Slowly the flashes vanished. When the Dark Master looked forward, he moved back a little. He saw something he didn't expect to see. Or at least that's what it seemed like.

Jesse and May Belle, the King and Princess of Terabithia, walked out of the shadows and stopped a few feet away from their enemy. Leslie was relieved to see her friends finally coming to save her. And so were Jesse and May Belle to see her. Also, they were surprised to see a new kind of creature, the huge lizard. Jesse realized quickly that it had to be an incarnation of Leslie's fear of reptiles.

May Belle was also frightened. She had never seen the greatest menace of Terabithia, and now she was examining the Dark Master's appearance.

"Release our Queen!"

Everyone looked up. Gregorius was hovering above the King and Princess. The rest of the Terabithian warriors quickly flew behind their leader and prepared to attack.

All that the Dark Master did, however, was chuckle. "I cannot believe this. Do you seriously believe that a bunch of insects are able to stand up to me? How pathetic! King Jesse, you really have not grown any smarter, have you?"

Jesse became very frustrated. The Dark Master turned at May Belle. "And what do we have here? You are the new Princess, I hear. Hah! You know, I take back my earlier statement. _This_ is pathetic!"

Both Jesse and May Belle were really angry now. "Hey! Don't talk to my sister like that!" Jesse shouted.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You and your puny bug friends. You have no chance against me!" He started to charge at Jesse and May Belle.

Jesse raised his right hand calmly and said: "Not so fast. Wait for it."

At that moment the ground quaked a little while there was also a thumping sound. Everyone was surprised except Jesse, May Belle and the warriors. Then there was another quake, and several more followed it. The sound seemed to be coming closer at each quake. Jesse fixed his eyes on the tree house, and everybody else followed his action.

The source of the quakes was soon in sight. The giant troll, with the face of eight-grader Janice Avery, appeared from behind the tree house. She looked down and snarled at the squogres and the lizard. The evil creatures got very scared of seeing an adversary far bigger than them and ran behind their master. "Unbelievable!" he said in disgust.

"Attack!" Gregorius shouted and the noble warriors flew towards their enemies. They started to fly around the Dark Master and his minions, distracting them. The troll reached down and ripped the tree roots off of Leslie with her strong hand. Leslie smiled and thanked the troll before running up to Jesse and May Belle. She pulled them into a short embrace and after that they all turned to look at their enemies.

When Gregorius saw that their Queen was safe again, he ordered the warriors to retreat. The insect creatures flew away, and the evil ones stopped shooing them away. When the Dark Master saw what was in front of him, he felt a sense of uncertainty flowing through him. The giant troll, the Terabithian warriors, the King, the Queen, and the Princess: they all stood there, defending their "castle".

"Give it up!" Gregorius said.

The Dark Master simply laughed slightly. "Never. I will never surrender to you." Then he fixed his eyes on Leslie. "You were lucky this time, Queen. Enjoy your happiness…while it lasts."

Then he raised his right arm into the air and, after casting an evil smile upon the rulers of Terabithia, waved it in front of him, casting a thick cloud of black smoke. After a few seconds, the smoke vanished, and the evil creatures were all gone. Everyone stood perfectly still for a few seconds, making sure the enemies had retreated.

Jesse walked up to the Terabithian warriors and faced Gregorius. "Thank you very much for your assistance. You may now return to your homes in the treetop provinces."

"Yes, my King", Gregorius replied and ordered the warriors to fly back to the treetops.

After the warriors' departure, Jesse turned to face the troll. "Thank you very much, Janice. You sure helped a lot."

"You're welcome", the troll answered smilingly with her deep voice and then walked away.

Jesse, Leslie and May Belle stood in silence for a few moments, watching the troll go into the depths of the forest. Leslie, who had put her hands on May Belle's shoulders, broke the silence and said: "So you actually call 'her' Janice now, eh?"

"Of course", Jesse answered. "What else would I call her?"

Leslie nodded. There was another moment of silence. The rulers of Terabithia examined their surroundings carefully. They all closed their eyes and breathed in the fresh morning air. The wind picked up and it sent shivers running through their bodies. Jesse and Leslie thought about the same thing: the time when they discovered the kingdom. They felt all the excitement as they did when they became best friends.

All of a sudden they started to hear something through the wind. It was that rattling sound again. The rulers opened their eyes and looked at each other. "I bet he's getting restless", Leslie said. Jesse and May Belle nodded in agreement.

After a while, the trio decided to climb into the tree house. They sat on the porch, with Jesse between Leslie and May Belle, like it would be in a real castle. The rulers stared into the distance, all of them wondering about different things. Once again Leslie broke the silence by asking: "How did you plan that whole counterattack thing?"

Jesse cleared his throat. "Well, we were having breakfast when I had this vision in my head. I saw that you were in danger." He paused for a short moment, looking at Leslie. "We immediately dashed into Terabithia, and once we had crossed the bridge, I called for Gregorius, the leader of the Terabithian warriors. I told him to raise his army, and also I asked him to send a message to the tro… I mean, Janice. So, that's how it went, really."

"I see", Leslie said. "What about those flashes of light? What were they?"

"Oh, I planned the surprise attack with Gregorius. He said that he could create a diversion by ordering some of the warriors to use their shields… You know, those that knights always carry… Anyway, they would use the shields to reflect the sunlight in the right angle, so there would be enough light to make one cover their eyes. That diversion gave us enough time to get prepared and then appear right in front of the enemy's eyes."

Leslie was amazed. "Wow, Jess, I'm impressed. You're certainly becoming a worthy king." She gave him the biggest smile she could give.

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "'Becoming'? Wasn't I a worthy king when we first started to come here?" he asked sarcastically.

Leslie punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Oh, you know what I mean." All three laughed for a moment. "What do you think we should do about this situation?" Leslie asked.

Jesse and May Belle kept thinking and thinking. "I think we need to visit that graveyard."

Leslie shivered. "The really dark one where you found me?"

"Graveyard? What graveyard?" May Belle asked.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't told you yet", Jesse acknowledged. "My Princess, in Terabithia there are also very dark places. This graveyard is one of them. According to Gregorius, all the evil creatures are buried there, and also everyone that have been killed by an evil one."

May Belle gasped at her brother's revelation. She looked Leslie. "You were actually buried?"

"No, Princess. But it seemed like I was going to get buried soon. But luckily, the King rescued me", Leslie said tearfully and put her hand on Jesse's shoulder. Jesse patted her hand. "Do we really have to go there?"

"Yes, I think so, my Queen." Then Jesse remembered what day it was. "But we shall attend to that later. Now, we need to go and pay our respects to the ones above us."

Then he stood up and made his way down from their "castle". Leslie and May Belle stood up too and followed him. When they started to walk to the bridge, May Belle asked Leslie what Jesse had meant. She was still a bit too young to understand all the "royal talk". Leslie giggled and answered: "May Belle, I think he meant that we need to go to church. Is it Sunday?"

Realization came upon May Belle's face. "Oh! Yeah, it is."

Leslie nodded and continued: "And when he said "the ones above us", I think he was referring to God and Jesus. Do you think I'm right?"

"Oh yes, of course! Yeah, you're right, Leslie."

"Thanks." As they crossed the bridge, Leslie realized something. "Oh, no!"

"What is it, Les?" Jesse asked.

"If we're going to church, I'll have to wear a dress. And I don't have any!"

"Don't worry. I'm sure Mom can give you one of my big sisters' old dresses."

"Okay."

"I just hope Brenda and Ellie don't mind…"

"Hey! The King doesn't sound so sure now, does he?" Leslie said with a cunning smile on her face. Jesse took the hint and started to run back to the house as quickly as he could, and Leslie chased him, threatening to tickle him.

May Belle tried to follow them but she wasn't as fast as them. "Wait! Wait!" she tried to yell over and over again, but in vain.


End file.
